Written by

Christopher Lloyd

Star archive

Each weekday between now and Halloween, the Star will share a local piece of paranormal or nefarious history. Check back at 10 a.m. tomorrow for your next ghastly tale.

It's been 30 years since the House of Blue Lights was demolished, but its legend has not waned. From the 1930s to the 1970s, it was a rite of passage for Indianapolis teenagers to sneak onto the property of millionaire businessman Skiles Test (near what is now the I-465 / Fall Creek overpass) to plumb the place's mysteries.

Macabre stories -- nearly all of them false -- abounded about the house with the eerie blue light that emanated from the sprawling, turn-of-the-century farmhouse and its various glass brick additions, including a four-story bathhouse.

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The most common tale was that Test kept his dead wife preserved in a glass coffin, over which he mourned nightly. Never mind that when he died in 1964, he was survived by his wife -- and two ex-wives to boot. But Test did string blue Christmas lights from his trees, hoard ketchup, maintain an electric power plant and keep 150 cats.

Still, the mystery fed upon itself, and with the large property guarded by locked gates and patrolled by numerous dogs, it made for creepy catnip for local youth.

An auction of Test's estate lasted three days and drew 50,000 people. The house was razed in 1978, four years after the Department of Parks and Recreation took control of the land.